Are Lithuanians Accepting Of Diversity?

A recent poll of Lithuanians indicate a significant number of them would accept the presnce of Romas in their wokplace but would prefer not having much social interaction with them. Seven out of ten Lithuanians would not mind having Romas working beside them and they would also welcome those with different sexual orientations in the workplace. Apparently, the Lithuanians have come to accept the necessity of working with people from diverse backgrounds but they simply don’t want them as neighbors or would welcome them in their social interactions. There was an interesting split between attitudes of employers and workers. About 75% of bosses believe Romas lack the skills to perform job tasks as contrasted with 26% of employees having such views.

What do the polls tell us that we don’t know? There apparently is a slight shift in attitudes among many Lithuanians from great hostility to Romas and lesbians or gays to a more relaxed approach as long as interations take place at work. Change takes time, but for those living today, your time is taking place at the expense of their time.